Surprise!
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Ichigo barely survives his encounter with Ulquiorra, and is left for dead. But for some reason, when he awakes, some very odd changes have taken place in his body. Now, more changed then ever before, what will he do with all this power? Pairing undecided.
1. Eh!

Dead.

"Your side will never achieve victory."

His hand, stabbing through my heart.

I...died, right?

No, I can't be dead!

Fading...

I'm...fading...

--

"Kurosaki-kun! He's-

"Eh?!! What did you do?!"

"I-I don't know!"

WHAM!

"Yipe!"

"You were supposed to heal him!"

"I-Itsygo's healed and thatz wat counts...

CLANG!

"Ow! Ow ow! Nel won't say anytin else!"

"Quiet! He's coming around!"

His body screamed for air, and he suddenly found that he'd been holding his breath.

"GAH!" He gasped, and the air rushed into his lungs, filling them with life giving oxygen.

"Huh?" He opened his eyes, and found Nel and Inoue staring down at him, with expressions of shock, surprise, and just plain speechless. "Um...What's with the looks?" Before anything could be said, he asked again: "Wha? What's everyone staring at?" Odd, his voice sounded different. Must be puberty or something.

"Um...

No one wanted to speak, for some weird reason.

His body felt...lighter somehow, more off balance, and he stumbled a step or two, having to slam Zangetsu into the ground for any semblance of balance, and everyone gave him plenty of room. The dunes before his eyes tilted back and forth, swaying as if he were on a ship, and seasick to boot, judging from his queasy stomach.

Staggering around, he realized he was still in Hueco Muendo, and still wearing his shihakusho.

Hm?

Why was a girl staring back at him?

"Um...Kurosaki-kun?"

Inoue poked him on the shoulder, and he blinked slowly, turning around to stare at her-

Wait?

What was Inoue doing here?

The last thing he remembered was Ulquiorra, stabbing him through the chest-

Oi! Kurosaki!"

His hand shot out as an arm flew of glass flew at him, and he threw whoever it was, over his shoulder.

Grimmjow?!

"Heh, nice reflexes, for a woman!" The sexta espada smirked. "Looks like that other woman didn't screw ya up too badly!"

Woman?

Startled, his hands flew to his chest, and in doing so, he dropped Zangetsu.

Eh?!

Okay, those definitely weren't a huge gaping hole!

He dropped his hands, and reached up to his hair. It was slightly longer now, maybe shoulder length. Slowly, his eyes traveled downward, and spied Zangets, showing his reflection upon its smooth, polished edge.

The reflection shown by Zangetsu did the exact same thing, as he flipped Grimmjow off, then did a double take, for the blade was jammed into the sands, and provided him with a makeshift mirror of sorts.

Experimentally, he touched a hand to his face, which was softer now, smoother by comparison, and...

Feminine.

The reflection copied.

This couldn't be happening, this can't be happening.

"I'm...a...girl...

Slowly, his mouth fell open.

"What...the...

Inoue clapped both hands over her ears, as did Nel.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"


	2. Masked Fury

Alas, Ichigo didn't have time to become used to the sudden change. Grimmjow wasn't exacly accomadating in that respect."Quit yer gawkin!" The espada snarled suddenly, biting his thumb, pointing a hand towards Inoue. Immediately, his palm crackled with cerulean light. "And fight me!"

"Hey, don't!"

"GRAN REY...CERO!"

A black blur, Ichigo, rocketed into the air, and the blast flew skyward, cleaved straight in half.

**"Damnit, Grimmjow!" **Snarled the voice from the darkness, redish dark sparks still dancing in the vortex the void had created. Flames licked at the sands, turning it to glass in some areas, while cratering others. **"I've just about had it with you!"**

A bolt of red lightning shot past his cheek, grazing him, but only barely, as he used Sonido to dodge. Yet it drew blood, and poor Inoue, along with Nel, had to drop flat to the sands, just to avoid the miniature nuke. **"So get ready." **A pair of bare feet were seen, then the overwhelming reaitsu pressed down on his shoulders.

"Ready for what?" Asked the espada, standing, smirking, but now with a small effort.

The twister of sand parted like a curtain to reveal black sclera, yellow irises, the long, soft mane of orange hair....

And a smirk.

**"_I'm_ going to...**

The figure began to emerge from the smoke clearly, taking its time. Bare feet padded lightly against the sands, and the fog began to part before the figure.

As if by a silent command, an ominous wind blew the sand and smoke away.

**(Background music: - Raw breath of danger)**

**"Kick your _ass_!"**

In the new Ichigo's place, was someone else entirely. Zangetsu was once more Tensa Zangetsu, a long black odachi, with a small chain dangling from its black wrapped hilt. It was a long katana, and it was extremely sharp, judging by _that_ edge.

**"Okosu Tensa, Zangetsu."** The entity whispered softly, and the blade glowed softly in response. A sense of satisfaction filled her, stemming from both her own pride, and that of the zanpaktou. So what if she looked different? The power, massive reaitsu that'd been with her ever since birth, hadn't changed a bit.

The mask fragment lined her head like a crown, similar to Barragan's but it only rested on her head. It had six points instead of five, and there was also a necklace of teeth dangling around her neck, akin to that of Zommari, Grimmjow noticed with some amusement. Lastly, there were two horns extending from the sides of the head. **(The horns are the one's that Ichigo has in manga chapter 351)**

The mask was there too, making the vizard look downright demonic. And the individual's outfit was now a black version of his regular attire, mirroring that of Zangetsu himself, but with the chest let out in a style that was more flowing to the girl's cleaveage. True, her breasts were exposed somewhat, but neither were they openly spilling out. With one hand, she reached up to the mask, pullin it aside. The viasge exposed was smooth and calm, but pale, even moreso than Ulquiorra's skin, a pure, flawless white.

As said before, was particularly well endowed, and if he had to vote, she was probably right up there with Halibel in terms of looks, not that it mattered. There was a savage, sophisticated air about this new woman, and it was clear to see that she meant business.

Oh yes, the being was still _distinctly_ female, and from the look of it, she was a deadly_,_ bloodthirsty_, bitch_.

The entity smirked, and her voice was that of an angel. **"Heh, I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm looking forward to this.."** However, it had a condescending, mocking tone to it, as if she saw him to be beneath her. "I've merged with my zanpaktou. Its a simple process actually, but since you're too lazy to release your sword, and this is only your second time doing so, you probably don't even know _how_ to do it."

She cast a glance to Inoue, and though it pained her to see Orihime so terrified of her, she refused to show it. He...erm, she was fighting to bring Inoue back, and if the latter was scared of her new appearance...well, who could blame her?

**"Don't worry, Inoue. I'll finish this quickly."**

**(Music change invasion)**

She looked back to Grimmjow, and held up Zangetsu, the blade, its chain clinking lightly from the movment. Now it had become a standoff, one that Ichigo immediately broke by launching herself at the teal haired espada, Zangetsu screaming for blood.

Eyes widening, the arrancar blocked with his katana, but failed to deflect the kick that threw him into the air. Ichigo leapt after him, and the air exploded with redish blue reiatsu, generated from the two combatants as they exchanged blows.

**"Ya know,"** She traced every smooth line of the blade, smiling softly as her hand ran down the guard, and squeezed gently the soft, silken wrapped hilt. **"This may not be my regular body, but that doesn't mean I won't kick your ass."**

"Aintcha cocky?!" Grimmjow cackled as they parried and blocked. "And its looks like ya got pretty damn strong!"

Breaking away, Ichigo cradled the blade like a mother would her most precious child. Or as best as one could cradle a deadly weapon capable of vaporizing anything in an instant. "**Zangetsu and I are fighting as _one_ entity. Together, we are more powerful than you could ever possibly be."** The ground felt like an ocean of reishi, unseen, swirling overhead, waiting to be released. **"And because I am _him_, and he is _me_, that is why we will defeat you, Grimmjow! That is why you will lose today!"**

The red sparks coalesced into the blade. She brought it back and swung, the motion too fast for him to even see. By the time he did register the movements, a dark wave of crescent reishi was hurtling towards him, tearing up the sands in its wake.

Every instinct in his body _screamed _for him to move, but he simply wasn't fast enough, despite being in his released state. But he still attempted to dodge-

And that was what did him in.

**"Aw, don't run away! I wanna have some fun with you!"**

A hand on his shoulder caused him to stiffen, and his sonido didn't take him to the left, as he had expected it too. Ichigo was now behind him, grinning like the devil. Even as the first crescent tore towards them, she raised the blade high.

**"Getsuga Tenshou!"**

In the resulting explosion, the panther staggered out the smoke, battered and bloody. But unlike before, he wasn't worried in the slightest. Even now, Grimmjow sneered, the laugh building at the back of his throat, then bursting into the air.

"Finally! I've been waiting for this, Kurosaki Ichigo!"

Ichigo frowned slightly, not at his words, but rather at the power Grimmjow was now exuding. Slowly, the arrancar placed a hand upon the flat of his blade, which immediately began to pulse a dull, steady azure blue. The sands beneath him swept upward, trembling from his reaitsu.

At this rate...."

"Grind! Pantera!"

**Next time. Battle Lust! The two demons**


	3. Tatakai! FIGHT!

With a swipe of air, she split apart both the sandy air that sprayed up from the force of Grimmjow's ressureccion being unleashed. As the soul reaper swayed in the blast of heated air, she, Ichigo turned to glance at Orihime.

Her eyes widened slightly.

A moment of silence.

"Are you afraid?"

She didn't answer, but neither could she deny it.

"I guess telling you to relax won't help much when I look like _this_." Ichigo sighed, her slim shoulders sagging, for they bore a great and terrible burden, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to see that Inoue was clearly terrified of her now. "But let me say it anyway. You can relax now."

Inoue couldn't bring herself to speak.

How could she say that just standing behind Ichigo shook her to the core? He...erm _she_was unusually docile to her, whereas he was unusually rough to everyone else besides his friends. It was terrifying, yet so amazingly wondrous at the same time, to stand next to such incredible power.

"I'll end this quickly."

Ichigo's spiritual pressure felt...

Scary.

Grimmjow's roar ripped her away from her thoughts, and by the time she'd brought her gaze back to Kurosaki-kun-erm, _chan, _Grimmjow had already swatted her aside, into and through ten pillars, where the fighting had now returned in earnest.

But at the eleventh, Ichigo twirled, caught the impact with both feet, and bolted right back at the espada.

Grimmjow, opened his mouth to respond with either some verbal jab, or perhaps another sound wave, turned to face Ichigo completely, and received a fist in the face for his efforts. letting out a grunt of pain, staggering back a step as the hybrid leapt away.

Grimmjow closed the gap between them with _sonido_, not wanting to let the shinigami have another chance to attack. Before Ichigo could react to the punch, Grimmjow landed a spin kick to her abdomen, a back handed punch to the side of her face to cancel out the momentum of the kick, and finally an upward spin kick to the chin which launched the girl straight up into the air.

Where the espada reappeared, delivering a bonecrushing blow that hurled the vizard into the pillar below, shattering it around her, burying her alive within its broken confines.

Scowling, Grimmjow scowled down into the sandy dust where his prey surely lay."Is that it shinigami?" His face twisting into a brutal sneer, he spat down into the dirt.

"Get out here."

In that moment Ichigo flew upward out of the dust, moving incredibly fast, appearing behind Grimmjow, blade raised high, and swirling with sinister reaitsu.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" She shrieked and swung, the crescent fang filling her peripheral vision.

"?!" The Espada whirled around with a snarl, but had no time to move, before he was consumed in the inferno. The massive swathe of opaque flames, easily ten times the velocity and size of a normal Kuroi Getsuga, burned for roughly three seconds before it abruptly died, prompting a small fron from its ownder.

A fierce wind swept up, and Ichigo just stood there in midair, her face contorting into a scowl behind the mask. Even in bankai, Getsuga Tenshou didn't have enough power to kill, not on its own. Her assumption proved true, as a laughing Grimmjow suddenly appeared from the smoke with a fully charged _Cero_ dancing in the palm of his hand.

"Alright! That's more like it, Kurosaki! Now, show me more of that power!" With a sharp punch of sonido, he dissapeared, re-appeared above her, and fired it at point blank range with a fierce shout.

_'Kuso!' _

Ichigo couldn't react fast enough and was engulfed by the attack as it slammed into the ground and exploded with her, leaving a small mushroom cloud as the sands vaporized into glass.

"_Cero," _Grimmjow said angrily as he jutted both his hands forward, a red blast of energy rocketing out of the center of his palms. The twin _cero _roared into the sky, slightly overtaking the afternoon sun in brightness as they shot up towards the flailing Shinigami.

"_Getsuga Tenshou!" _Ichigo yelled as she swung the thin black blade of her _bankai _forward, the opaque wave of his attack splitting the Espada's _cero _into halves. Grimmjow quickly dodged out of the way, the blast obliterating the tip of his tail as it passed by. The Arrancar looked down at the burnt stub and growled, bringing his attention back to his prey.

Her feet slightly charred by the attack, and far too hot from point blank contact with the cero, Ichigo was at the moment, violently kicking off her sandals, leaving the smoking footwear to fall into the dunes below.

"Jeez, that was close!"

Yet as she returned her attention down into the dirt, Grimmjow attacked from above with a drop kick to the head, then got in front of her and landed a two foot kick to the spine to send her back up into the air.

Using another Sonido, Grimmjow got in front of the hybrid again and landed a two handed swing sending his opponent straight into the ground, followed by a quick Cero, one which exploded the ground in red, forcing Ichigo to leap away as the blast consumed her general vicinity.

Grimmjow flung Ichigo back down, the black-clad warrior's body slamming into the concrete below. Ichigo coughed up a thick wad of blood as she bounced off the sand, her eyes squeezing shut in agony before she fell back down to the dunes. She struggled to stand, the pain of a broken rib shooting throughout her body while she forced herself back to her feet.

The sound of a _sonído _suddenly filled her ears as the gigantic frame of the Espada filled his peripheral vision. Ichigo snapped his head to the left, but the Arrancar had already sprung his assault; Appearing in front of Ichigo again, Grimmjow spun himself like a gyroscope, landing several hits with his fists, elbow blades, and feet, before a straight punch sending her hurtling backwards, laughing as the shinigami desperately worked to regain lost ground.

Grimmjow then let loose a rapid barrage of punches to the gut, and after a moment of sagging over in pain, Ichigo swung her blade to Grimmjow's gut, which the limber espada hopped over and immediately went into a rapid spin and landed a downward kick on the vizard's skull, which jerked her head downward sharply.

Ichigo recovered though, and stabbed at him, but with a flick of the wrist Grimmjow released a Bala to divert the attack, thus snapping her arms backward, and leaving the dazed vizard wide open for an attack, which consisted of another counter with a punch to the face.

Grimmjow stood in the air grinning, from within the smoke, his chest slightly scalded before, now burned, bellying the semi visible, wicked scar he'd kept on his muscled chest and stomach, his eyes sparking with wild animal insanity, as Ichigo once again emerged from the smoke, relatively unharmed, albeit a few scorch marks on her left arm.

"THIS IS GREAT! I'VE NEVER FELT SO ALIVE!"

Ichigo scowled, then blurred forward, intercepting the oncoming punch in her free hand, whilst Grimmjow's left seized the wrist of her sword arm, repeating the tactic of before.

"You won't be saying that when you're dead."

Fire rippled from their forms and steam rose from them, as their auras flared about them, a horrifying power that was terrible to behold, let alone witness. As one, they both vanished, only to to reappear on the ground, exchanging heated blows and strikes, as now the espada had revealed the blades position upon his elbows, and was openly using them to defend himself.

Again, they vanished, reappearing to the left, swords a blur of steel grey, and luminous crimson black, as it was now Ichigo who was on the defensive, his shunts, blocks, and parries, a blur to the eye, as his blade was seemingly everywhere at once, never letting a hit get through to him.

With a simultaneous growl, their blades slammed together, sparks flying as energy clashed against metal, their faces creased murderously, as this, they, were finally beginning to grow serious in their battle.

They broke apart, the slammed together, sprang away, again and again, blurs of white and black, moving through the air, over the ground, at incredibly fast speeds, the shockwaves of such nearly bowling Inoue and Nel clear off their feet.

Ichigo quickly descended to the ground, and gasped as she felt the heat rippling even down here.

"How the hell is he doing that...

She went for a kick to the waist which Grimmjow blocked, then a punch to the face which Grimmjow easily dodged while shouting, "You're too damn slow, shinigami!"

Grimmjow then went for a downward swing but now, Ichigo caught him by the upper arm, so Grimmjow's elbow was pointing at her face, and he was unable to reach her. Thinking she had, the vizard allowed herself a small smile behind the mask.

But the espada's amused, coarse laugh strongly suggested otherwise. "Wrong move buddy," Grimmjow stated as suddenly five jagged tips erupted from the elbow, then flew at her face.

EAT THIS!" Roared the arrancar, as the darts exploded from his elbow, now screaming down towards the shinigami. Ichigo recoiled sharply, the dartas passing just over her mask, and scraping across the porcelain.

And headed straight for...

"Inoue!"

Orihime closed her eyes and let out a scream-

But the pain never came.

Ichigo suddenly appeared before her, back to the arrancar and facing her, the ever grinning mask portraying nothing of her dismayed expression hidden inside. She took all five of the darts to his back, and sagged over from the impact.

hollowfied eyes stared into hers, and she scooted back a bit in fear.

"Why? Why did you-

Ichigo spat out blood through her mask, tone pained.

"I...don't know why. I just did."

Grimmjow suddenly sprang off the ground at her, and Ichigo blurred away, the battle joined again and again, as they blurred through the air, yet Inoue now refused to look, as what she had seen earlier, had truly frightened her.

Ichigo spun away from a kick, and received a brutal tail whip, that smacked her into the ground.

She rose up, and now, the upper right half of his mask had been shattered, revealing that part of her face, as she glanced up, just in time to receive an kick which she caught, and returned in favor, by cutting a gash over the espada's chest, flinging him away, then tackling him in a skydiving kick, which shook the earth, as they collided again, the ground exploding under their feet.

"G-Go Itsygo!"

Inoue began to tremble, and Nel glared at her.

"Whatsamatter with you?!"

Startled, she bit her lip. "N-Nothing!"

_"Itsygo's out dere fightin' for you! Why're ya acting like yer afraid of Itysgo? _Ichigo was rising from the ground now, but a spinning kick from Grimmjow caught her square in the mask, chipping the entire right side away and thus exposing that side of her face, tumbling her end over end, until he flew through a building, only to push off the wall, and spring back into action, her blade slammed against the spikes of Grimmjow's elbow blades.

_Din't you say Itsygo's a nice person?! Well yer right! Nell tinks he's nice too! Itsygo's so nice, when he heard Ulquiorra say yer name, he charged right at 'im!"_

Simultaneously, they lashed out, catching each other's face in a solid right hook, that blasted them apart.

Ichigo backpedalled, hoping to gain some ground on her enemy. Taking the block proved to be extremely unwise, the sands exploding beneath her, further sapping her strength. Grimmjow leaping back seconds later, and as they charged forward and connected, a dome of purple light flashed out-

From which Ichigo was heaved out, slamming into the ground beneath them, as they looked down from the pillar.

She propped herself up, and winced as the lower half of the mask crumbled, exposing the lower half of her face, set in a pained grimace, her golden black eyes still terrifying to behold.

_"Itsygo is a human! But den he__became a Shinigami, an' even put on dat mask and used dat dangerous power!"_

Her chest rose and fell sharply, as she sucked in a ragged breath, trying to regain her lost energy. But the power slipped away, worming out of her grasp, eluding her efforts to grip and control it.

"TOO SLOW!" Laughed Grimmjow, and a flying kick booted the viard back into the wall with explosive force, not enough to shatter it, but it easily cracked as her back slammed into it, then slid down with the rest of her.

_"Dere's no way Itsygo isn't gettin' hurt! He's gotta be sufferin'! But Itsygo's usin' his powers and gettin' injured all cuz he's fightin' for you! What's-- What's gonna happen if ya don't cheer for Itsygo!"_

Inoue gasped as blood shone on the stone

"He's gonna die if you don't believe in him!"

Cackling wildly, the espada leapt upon the vizard, his hands a blur of motion, in so many places that the hybrid was at a loss to determine their direction. Crying out, her guard buckled under the attacks.

"Come on Come on,Come on, COME ON!" She doubled over, trying to shield herself from the worst of the blows, a hopeless feat as the arrancar struck, lashing out with tooth and claw and tail. "Where's that reaitsu from before?! Where the hell did your fighting spirit go-

Her head snapped up, and her eyes blazed, red light dancing about her form.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

The resulting wave of flame shaped heat smacked hard into Grimmjow, sending him flying into the air, giving Ichigo a much needed reprieve, as she then vomitted blood, and sagged over painfully.

In the sky, she knew Grimmjow would be coming for her again, and right now, she was running on empty. Groaning, she fell to her knees, holding her ribs,

Even now, she could see him coming-

"Don't die."

_'Nani?'_

"DON'T DIE, KUROSAKI-CHAN!"

Ichigo suddenly stiffened, as she heard Inoue scream at her Slowly, she turned her gaze, glancing looked over her shoulder, up at the pillar from which the sound at come. Only see her crying, tears brimming and gushing out of her eyes, sobbing openly.

"You don't have to win, just don't get beat up any more!"

"Inoue...

"PLEASE!" She screamed, closing her eyes as she did so.

Grimmjow suddenly came tearing in ready to give a killing blow.

"YOU'RE MINE!"

He twirled round to take the head on attack-

Blood flew through air again.

The arrancar scowled, his serrated teeth grinding together dangerously, as he pulled a blood soaked hand away, yet failed, as Ichigo suddenly reached out to grab him.

"Eh?"

Naruto growled, then fell to one knee, a small hole in the right side of his chest, now leaking blood, as he panted heavily.

The espada frowned, turning his gaze to the skyward pillar.

"So, you'd die to save her, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo glared up at him, defiant to the last.

"Its what... friends do. You should-

With a grunt, and great effort, her words strained, she rose up to her feet, one hand over the hole, the other still holding tightly to the arrancar's arm.

-try it some time."

The espada gave a harsh laugh. "HA! Friends?! Who needs em?!".

"Sorry Grimmjow, but I can't afford any more injuries...

Grimmjow gasped as the blade was raised up, yet the blond had him in a death grip, and try as he might, he could not get away. He'd been baited, tricked, deceived, and now he realized his mistake.

_'Shit!'_

"It ends here."

Startled, Grimmjow looked on in surprise as Zangetsu, lodged in a dune a yard or so away, shot back into the air, landing in the vizard's palm with an audible smack.

With one sharp, decesive movement, Ichigo Kurosaki raised her sword, the black blade glinting in the harsh afternoon sunlight, casting a shadow over his face.

"Yer damn right it does!"

Blood sprayed into the air as the giant axe scythe slammed into Grimmjow.

**_Next time: The Hatred of Women._**


	4. Wrath of the Mask

**_I aplogize for the typo in the last chapter. I've kinda had Naruto on my brain for the past week or so. Sumimasen! As for the pairings, meh, I have NO idea yet, but that doesn't mean there can't be some fluff here and there! Hehehe._**

**_Amour_**

"Damn, you're a sore loser! Just die already!"

He'd been sure this massive spiritual pressure belonged to a guy, not some random chick with orange hair and a killer bod'. She glared at him, this woman, her gaze breaking only just long enough to fall on Grimmjow, who wheezed a pained breath and swore something beneath his breath.

"Oi...Kurosaki....

"Eh?" The shinigami jerked her head to the right, irritation evident in her eyes. "You say something?"

Whatever, he shrugged to himself, after briefly assesing her somewhat battered body and weakened reaitsu. As long as this shinigami was strong, as long as she had enough spirit left in her to put up a semi-decent fight, he didn't _care_ if she was male or female.

_'This one's mine now!'_

Now, pointedly raising a finger glaring, pointing, at the dumbfounded vizard Ichigo with a great amount of disdain in his voice, and a derisive sneer upon his lips, the arrancar finished his sentence, speaking to the soul reaper. "Oi, woman! Y_ou're_ the one who beat Grimmjow?"

He grinned, exposing pearly white teeth.

"Who...are you?" The shinigami breathed, clearly in shock. "An espada?!"

Yanked by a large chain, the massive weapon retreated, landing smack into his palm. His one visible eye, the other covered by a sort of eyepatch, the arrancar languidly approached, still dragging the massive bludgeon behind him.

"I asked who you are!" Ichigo shrieked, the tension becoming too much for her to bear. "Answer me, damnit!"

"Eeeeeh?" The new arrancar answered lazily, shouldering his massive weapon with ease. "_You_...wanna know who _I_ am?"

Chestnut brown eyes widened as a massive wave of _reiatsu _rained down from the ceiling, the spiritual energy pressing down on the three of them like a solid stone block. Ichigo shot a look over at Inoue and Nel, her face contorted in a mixture of confusion and fear. Her eyes were screaming at her, asking what this horrible pressure was, asking who it belonged. Ichigo struggled against the absurd force, gritting her teeth as the wave began to ebb away and the grinding in her bones slowly dissipated.

_"What the hell was that?"_ The hybrid thought, still shaking slightly after the strain.

"Nnoitra...teme....

Ichigo blinked in surprise, realizing Grimmjow had just given her the name of her foe.

_Nnoitra?_ That sounded about right. It _had_ to be the man standing before her, the one grinning sadistically, jovially actually, as his single eye fell upon that of his former comrade, his lips parting to form a single sentence as he slowly approached.

"Whoa, you're still alive after that? Not bad."Without another sound aside from a small chuckle, the arrancar sprang overhead, twirling the pole of his weapon as if it weighed no more than a feather.

"I'll just have to finish the job then!"

_'No!'_

A faint flicker of surprise flickered across the lanky's espada's face, as he found his strike blocked, by Ichigo, her blade smoothly sliding in the thin space that seperated the two giant crescents'.

"What the hell're you doing?" It was a simple enough question, so why did it irritate her so much? Worse, why did the thought of Grimmjow kicking the bucket...actually rattle her a little bit?

"Kuro-saki...you...Grimmjow tilted his neck slightly, trying to say something, as he struggled to raise himself up upon his elbows. The effort it took clearly tired him, for his head fell back to its original position moments later. Finally, he spoke again.

"You're...an idiot."

_'Eh?!'_

"Teme!" The shinigami screeched at both to Nnoitra AND Grimmjow, trying not to let the strain and frustration show upon her face, nor be evident in her eyes as her feet began to slide, unable to withstand the impact, her eyes sliding back to Nnoitra. "Why are you attacking someone who can't even move?"

"HA! A barking laugh, and the next strike smashed her into the ground.

WHAM!

"What the hell is this shit, Grimmjow? First then enemy kicks yer ass, then you let 'em save yer life?"

Turning, he grinned towards Ichigo.

"What's your name, Shinigami?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

A grin.

"Kurosaki, huh?" Unshouldering his massive scythe, the one eyed arrancar spoke once more, lazily and languidly bringing his weapon aback around. "I'll remember it, for the short time you're still alive!"

CLANG!

_"Shit He's incredibly strong for such a skinny guy!"_

_'Too heavy!'_

With a scream, she slammed into the ground.

--

_(Flashback)_

His eyes narrowed as Dodorni pounced at Nel, who had just saved him from the cero, via enhaling the crimson light whole.

_'No!'_

He immediately forsook conserving his reaitsu, and carved a deep gash down the privaerion's side.

When he was provoked into using his mask, he made no hesitation to deal the most damage he could, in one blow.

--

When the viridian blast came screaming towards him, only one thought was his own.

Keep Nel safe.

That came at a heavy price, as he took the beating of his lifetime, exacting a near fatal toll on his body.

But he endured.

Ichigo did not faint, even as he was stabbed, he retained his conciousness, despite the invitation to sleep being oh so tempting...

He was concious as Ulquiorra walked away, footfalls echoing in on themselves.

"You will never achieve victory."

His face twisted into a dark scowl, but he could not make his body move.

"D-Damnit!"

"Farewell, shinigami."

He lay there for awhile, until at last, he could move again, and even then, only his arms, as Zangetsu returned to normal.

"I-Itsygo!"

He looked to the right, and saw that Nel was perfectly fine.

A ragged sigh of relief escaped him.

Somehow, as long as she was okay, he believed that he would be fine.

She looked to b every _very_ upset though.

"I couldn' do anythin..." She lipsed, about to burst into tears.

"I'm fine... He mumbled, trying to rise, edging forward on his arms.

Though it hurt like hell, and though he left a trail of blood in his wake, he managed to pat her on the head, then somehow not cry out, as she hugged him, and started sobbing into his chest.

His arms shakily encircled her.

"See? Just f-fine." He stammered, blood flecking his lips, even as he spoke.

"I-Itsygo...Sobbed the girl, looking up at him with tear filled eyes. "I couldn' do anythin....

The vizard chuckled, desperate to make her stop crying.

"H-Hey, its okay.

--

"ITSY-GO!"

"GAH!" He cried, as Nel headbutted/tackled him _right_ in the stomach, were he had been stabbed by Grimmjow earlier.

Visibly ticked, he grabbed her.

"Idiot! What were you thinking?! You jumped off a cliff! You would've died if you fell!"

"I'm so happy." That simple murmur through him entirely off course.

"Eh?"

"Itsygo, I'm so happy you didn't die!"

At this, his eyes softened.

"Yeah-

He patted her lightly on the head. "Thanks Nel."

With that, he jumped back to the pillar, and set her down.

(Present)

_'Itsygo always pwotected me..._

All these thoughts and more ran through her little head as she watched shinigami and arrancar battle it out, a mere foot from where she lay hidden behind a slab of stone.

Ichigo cried out as she was struck down to her knees. Two new gashes blossomed as the razor sharp blade slashed her already thoroughly torn shinigami robes, and a shower of crimson blood flew into the air.

Finally, as it was bound to happen, Nnoitra threw Ichigo threw the slab in which she'd taken shelter. Hardened stone was no match for the momentum of a body being launched into the air, and the resounding explosion caught her.

The child with the broken skull mask cried out as she struck the hardened sand terrain and skidded to a halt. Struggling to move into a sitting position, Nel looked up at Ichigo, still struggling to stand with wide, teary eyes as the changed vizard threw herself at Nnoitra once more.

"Itsygo...

--

She erupted out of the shunpo, twirling Zangetsu by the chain about her wrist as if were a living breathing entity. Which of course it was, considering the fact that it was a zanpaktou and such.

"Dont'cha get it?" Nnoitra cackled, then stuck out his tongue, revealing the black five tattooed upon it. "That's my rank. You got yer ass kicked by that piece of shit, and you barely beat him.

Ichigo leapt into the air once more, her body spinning away from her attacker again and again as she continuously placed several yards between the two of them.

"You've got some nices moves." Nnoitra laughed, as Ichigo continued to flawlessly dance away from the massive zanpaktou, its silvery black edge missing her by barely a centimeter each time. "This ain't your first time fighting someone with an extendable weapon, is it?"

"No, it's my second!" Ichigo replied, ducking under the massive edge, twisting away from the chain as it tried to ensnare her wrist, then spurring forward with a sharp swish of shunpo, intending to impale him upon the black blade.

"That so?!"

So busy had she been trying to avoid the scythe and chain, that she'd forotten about the _pole_ to which they were both attached. It now slammed into her back, aggravating the wound given by Grimmjow's claws, and sending fire down her spine as her body slammed into the sand.

"Nrgh!"

With a groan, she forced herself to rise, blinking the dirt and dust away.

"Too slow!"

Her eyes opened just in time to see the Arrancar's wide blade screaming downwards at her chest. Thankfully, well-honed defenses had saved her, her arm bringing her zanpaktou up to block the attack before the mind had even registered the movement. She was forced backwards by the strength of the blow, bare feet skidding painlessly across the stony sand as she dropped herself into a defensive pose.

"Impressive reflexes, Shinigami," said the arrancar, his saddistic voice barely muffled by the faint smoke that wafted in between them, occasionally obscurring their view of each other. "I didn't think you were gonna block that one."

"Stop this!"

Both combatant's jerked their attention to the left, surprised to hear Inoue suddenly cry aloud once more.

"Kurosaki-kun's hurt!"

"Shut your hole, bitch!" Nnoitra snapped, glaring at Inoue, and jabbing a finger at Ichigo. "Who cares if she's hurt? This's a fight, a' course it ain't fair!" With a cackle, he appeared before Ichigo, launching her into another pillar with another of his powerful kicks.

As the hybrid struggled to right herself, Nnoitra waded across the sands towards her.

_"Fighting, after all, is a monster born form unfairness and intolerance. I hate that guy. I can beat him! I'll make him pay! You invent reasons to turn a person into an enemy, and the moment you do, the fight begins. __Enemies are made for all sorts of reasons. From the moment one makes an enemy, until one breathes their final breath, they're in battle._"

Struggling to rise, Ichigo launched herself at Nnoitra again, only for the espada to catch Tensa Zangetsu in his palm, then effortlessly bat her aside as if she weighed no more than a rag doll..

"You thought you could go all-out in the middle of the enemy's base and not have anyone come after you? That's a real bad joke, shinigami! Get up. I watched your whole fight with Grimmjow. I know all your tricks!"

"DON'T!"

With a scream, Ichigo ran at him, only to find herself slapped aside.

"_Getsuga_…" Ichigo said, rearing her arms back as a black energy began to swirl around her blade. "_Tenshou!_"

The attack had barely left the tip of the blade before Nnoitra appeared directly in front of the Shinigami, his free hand casually slapping the powerful attack off to the right before pointing his zanpakuto at Ichigo's shocked face.

Ichigo snickered before vanishing in a burst of _shunpo, _reappearing directly above the pillar her fist striking into the air. What had seemed like empty sky suddenly distorted as Nnoitra slid into sight, his _sonido _carrying him directly into her punch. He staggered backwards slightly before regaining his composure and lashing out with his unreleased blade, to which Ichigo furiously countered, stabbing forward with the compact form of her. Nnoitra managed to dodge the quick attack, but the spoon collar that hung about his neckfound itself quickly severed from the rest of his white uniform.

"_Getsuga_…" Ichigo snarled once more as energy began to swell along her blade, "_Tenshou!"_

The opaque crescent of energy again arced forward at the Arrancar from point blank range. It plowed onward, pushing Nnoitra backwards as he was forced to hold his block against the powerful attack. With a simple flick of his wrist, however, the _Quinto _Espada slashed the fang of energy in half. As his vision cleared, Nnoitra saw that Ichigo was already flying towards him in the wake of the attack; the Shinigami's eyes filled with barely contained fury.

Their blades crashed against each other once more as Ichigo launched into a flurry of strikes. Nnoitra bloced and parried perfectly, his movements appearing effortless in contrast with his opponent's sloppy, rage-driven attacks. Ichigo suddenly jabbed forward with her zanpaktou, the black tip of _Tensa Zangetsu _aiming directly for Nnoitra's chest.

The espada didn't even bother to dodge, for his skin sparked, and remained unharmed.

"Eh? I guess this thing only looks sharp." He grinned as he yanked Ichigo forward, reveling in the stunned look the girl wore, her blood spilling across the sands as his hand stabbed into the fair skin of her stomach.

Allowing the vizard to double over, the espada removed his taut hand from her gut, the fingers still dripping with gore as they seized her by the hair, hoisted her up, promtping a wide grin as she began to choke on her own blood.

"S'matter? Where'd that bravado of yers go, shinigami?"

"ITSYGO!"

A massive wave of dark _reiatsu _suddenly blanketed them, the spiritual energy flooding the entire dome with an oppressive weight. Nnoitra heard Tesla gasp in surprise before he noticed that his own breath had been squeezed from his lungs. His knees threatened to buckle under him as the pressure seemed to increase slightly and the edges of his vision began to grow hazy and dark.

Suddenly the crushing feeling ceased to exist, leaving both shinigami, human, and arrancar to catch their breaths in peace. Inoue looked up at Ichigo with a shaken expression, her eyes slightly wider than normal as the vizard was dumped bodily to the ground, clutching at the gaping hole in her stomach.

"Who...was that?" she asked, her voice trembling in fatigue, her gaze turning sandy wasteland occupied by Nel, mere moments ago. Now, it was filled with thick, acrid smoke. "Where....did Nel-chan go...?"

_"Nnoitra!" _From the haze, the voice came, a fierce, and angry shout as the sound of a sword being drawn filled the air, cutting apart the fog, as if by some invisible wind.

The espada stiffened, the blood in his veins freezing beneath his skin as a faint silhouette could now be seen. The smoke parted briefly, exposing long teal hair, hazel eyes, and a face full of fury as angry tears welled up in her those keen pools of deadly brilliance.

"You?!" The Quinto espada gasped, unable to believe his eyes. "But you're...

She didn't speak for a moment, for her gaze fell upon Ichigo, weak, and struggling for breath. When her gaze returned to Nnoitra, it was full of fire and wrath, something she had not felt for nearly a century.

"What you have done," The woman hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes narrowing to furious slits as tears pooled down from her eyes, framing her face in the gust of wind brought up by her own violet colored reaitsu.

Tesla, still holding Inoue captive, took a small step backwards, only for the woman to glare at him. "And YOU!" The air rippled slightly ten centimeters to the left of him. From the blue, a hazy sphere of purple light to smash into him from behind, toppling the fraccion over, freeing Orihime as he clawed at the burn mark upon his lower back.

"_BOTH OF YOU!_ _What you have done is unforgiveable!"_

**_Next time: Condemnation and Retaliation._**


	5. Return of the Demon

"So you've returned to your old form, Neliel."

She didn't reply, instead dissapearing in a sharp buzz of sonido that left him fairly surprised. Nnoitra stiffened, eye widening as she circled him, scooped up Ichigo, then vanished again, all before he could even swing his blade.

"Teme." He growled, glaring at her furiously.

"Nel...

Turning, the espada fixed Ichigo with a gentle gaze.

"Are you really Nel?!"

"I am. Thanks to you, Ichigo, I could return to my former body."

"It's...thanks to me?"

"Yes. Ichigo its all because you brought me here while protecting me when I was in my child form."Setting the vizard down gently, she smoothly placed a hand across Ichigo's gaping wound, and then frowned at the severity of it. "Please stay here a moment. I want to thank you."

"W-Wait Nel!" She made the mistake of trying to rise, only for the pain to force her back down, the blood flow increasing slightly from the strain of trying to get back up. "Don't tell my you're going to try _fighting him_ to thank me?!

"It's okay. I'll finish it quickly." At that very moment, a strong gust blew up the back of her tattered, ragged shirt, exposing a large, ornate tattoo there, engraved deep into her skin.

_Tres. _Ichigo...suddenly found herself cold and numb, trembling, shaking both from the fright of it all, and the blood that leaked between her figners as she tried to stop the bleeding. '_She's...She's the third strongest espada. Then is she...that much stronger...than Ulquiorra?'_

When Nnoitra had announced that Nel was really Nelliel Tu Oderschvank, a former espada, she hadn't believed him, after all, why should she? Why would one be expected to trust the words of an enemy during the heat of battle?

But now... former espada Nel...really _was_ an espada after all. And Ichigo couldn't, wouldn't, bring herself to forget that horrible spiritual pressure she'd witnessed seconds ago. It was burned into her eyes, her heart, and her mind, and it was h-horrible...

She could feel it, the blood soaking through to her back.

_I...I can't...stay...awake..._

Her vision began to dim, even as Inoue raced over to her, though she weakly raised a hand to ward off her attempts to heal. "Neh, Inoue...take care of...Grimmjow first-nrgh?!" She tried to breathe once more, but instead, much to her dismay, coughed up a thick wad of blood, her lungs refusing to take in the life giving oxygen as her eyes flew wide with surprise and despair.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

_Shit..._

Her eyes slid shut...

And the wind blew through her hair, ticking her nose, drawing a sharp sneeze.

"Achoo!"

Her eyes flew open from the sneeze, and she suddenly felt better. Gone was the pain in her stomach, and to her surprise, air flowed freely through her lungs, even when one was supposed to have collapsed.

_'Eh?'_

The wind rustled past causing her to stir and further awaken from her pain induced slumber. She stiffened suddenly, as another individua, yards across from her, began to rise as well, recognizing her reflection in the glass below her.

Blinking, she scratched her head, patted herself down, but there was no trace of her wound, and the window of the skyscraper reflected her shocked expression.

"Uwaaaah, what the hell just happened?"

**_"Whaddya think?"_**

Across the terrace, pale eyes opened to reveal the hollow colors of golden black. A wicked grin twisted her pale face as he noticed the weight of Zangetsu upon his back, light as a feather despite its massive size.

**_"Heh."_**

"You?!" Ichigo started, scrambling to her feet, finally realizing where she had returned. "What the hell is this?!"

**_"It's like I said." _**The doppleganger's grin grew wider, as she saw the look in the girls eyes, even from this distance. With all the grace of an trained acrobat, she sprang from her tower to the next, landing in a crouch a mile, then a foot away, reappearing with a swish of shunpo stood tall, making herself known.

**_"Don't die before I show up again."_**

Like Ichigo, his apparent other self had gone through a gender swap of his own. Though the shinigami saw with some mild amusement, that the hollow had actually customize its outfit, to the point where long silverly hair could be seen flowing over her shoulders and down to her knees because _her_ hakama ended in a skirt, showcasing long, slender legs.

Rising, she briefly stretched, even though there was no need to do so. When all her joints had at last produced a satisfying pop, she stood to her full height, looking about, surverying the domain, and the shinigami before her.

**_"Yo," _**She grinned, her voice only slightly feminine, in contrast to her new body.**_ "Been awhile, hasn't it, king?"_**

"Tch." She snickered, covering her mouth unable to hold it back any longer. What a ridiculous outfit? Apparently, the hollow had no fashion sense, because whatever that was, it was HIDEOUS!

**_"Ya seem different."_** Hichigo, still unaware, commented with a sly smirk, her new voice perfectly blending together her penchant for mockery and reverence which still hadn't changed in the slightest. **_"Diddya cut yer hair or somethin'?"_**

"HA!" She laughed aloud, bursting into a fit of giggles. "Nice skirt, teme!"

**_"NANI?!"_**

"Bwahaha!" Ichigo was rolling on the ground by now, laughing so hard it hurt and that ears of mirht poured from her amber eyes. "Hahahaha! Ridiculous! You look so figgin ridiculous!"

**_"Oh, that is IT! You're dead! I'll rip your friggin head off, Ichigo!" _**Hichigo shrieked furiously unsheathing her own Zangetsu, scowling at the bemused expression of her host, for Ichigo was till powerless to stop her giggling fit, no matter how hard she tried.

"Wait! What's...

However...Ichigo _was_ different, the gender bender aside. A strange sort of glee coursed through her veins as never before, invigorating her rejuvenating her, giving ten- no one hundred times her normal strength. For once in her life, she could truly fight without having to worry for the safety of anyone else.

The enemy was before her, and she looked ridiculous.

All that remained was to cut him down.

"This time," She got to her feet, snickering through another impending fit of giggles, "You won't be coming back!"

--

And again, the scenerey changed as they crossed blades.

"Nani?" She growled, opening her eyes to find herself within an eerily familair corridor of Las Noches. To her right, was a stairwell, and behind her, a vas number of pillars, clearly there to support the ceiling.

"This is...

"Kurosaki Ichigo, prepare yourself."

She blinked in surprise, some insitnct making her, throw her arm out catching the sword, barehanded, ignoring the blood that welled up in her palm, the blade skidding to a halt. There was a brief gasp of surprise from his attacker, seen in the espada's eyes, for as she turned, the vizard's golden black orbs glared into his junniper green slits with an all too obvious intent.

"Ulquiorra." She growled, surprised, but more angry that not, to see the espada before her. Gripping the sword tightly, he felt it dig deeper into his flesh "So you're after me again, eh?" What could be seen, was a disspassionate expression staring him blankly down.

"So it would seem." The espada replied coldly. "However, I cannot say the same for your sanity." Ichigo snarled then, lashing out with such force that the espada momentarily staggered back then, before he regained his balance.

"Are you certain that was wise?" The espada let his his eye train on the floor began to buckle, cracking beneath their struggle. "I'll kill you soon if you don't figure this one out.

"Heh."Behind the perpetual smile of red and white porcelain Ichigo snarled, taking one, then two steps forward, until the ebony black tip of Tensa Zangetsu brushed against Ulquiorra's ashen skin."You should be saying that to yourself."

"!!"

_"Getsuga.."_ Ichigo growled, and the _cuarta_ espada stiffened suddenly, but to no avail, the vizard held him fast. Pale eyes widened in fear against the dark light as they at last realized the impending lethality of this attack, "_Tenshou."_

Moments later, the black energy fang leapt from _Zangetsu_, and into Ulquiorra, tearing him away from the vizard, ripping into his skin with blistering force as he was forced to take the block barehanded. There was another swish of shunpo, and Ichigo was there, _Tensa Zangetsu_ raised and ready to rain down another _Kuroi Getsuga_ at his head.

_"Getusga-_

Ulquiorra suddenly swung his sword with gusto, batting away both the offensive strike and its wielder. Ichigo lurched back in surprise, trying to ignore the gash blossoming down the length of her shoulder. With a grunt, she threw another retalitory _getsuga _at the arrancar, who in turn raised a hand and swatted it away.

Noting the small burn on his palm, the espada scoffed and brushed it off on his coat.

"You've...changed, Kurosaki. That one...actually stung a bit. Why?" Ulquiorra pointedly raised a finger from his fist as he said this, a thin smirk tugging at his usually scowling dispassionate visage as he now noted her apparent gender swap. "I wonder...Is it because you're unused to that body, or are you holding back...?"

"I could say the same for you." Ichigo spit at him, but that was all she could do now, attack him verbally. Block, dodge, evade, retreat, and repeat. She hadn't the energy to tackle him full on, not without her mask. Ulquiorra seemed to realize this, as his attack changed from precise stabs to powerful thrusts and and parries, mixed together with long, overhanded sweeps of his sword.

When Ichigo tried to keep her distance and resort to using Getsuga, the espada too changed tactics once again, loosing a hail of bala and cero on the battered vizard, most of which failed to connect, but made the hybrid dance around enough to sap what little strength she had remaining.

"You do realize this won't work, don't you?" The espada continued the barrage, firing the blasts effortlessly from his finger, occasionally moving his hand when the vizard tried unsucessfully to divert the attack. "You are afraid, Kurosaki. Your defeat at my hands left you with fear, and that fear will devour you if you do no-oof!"

The espada's face caved in as a fist slid into his visage, catapaulting him into one of the many skyscrapers.

"Shut your face!" Ichigo, having dissapeared moments ago, barked, rubbing her smoking hand, an expression of irritation marring her otherwise perfect face. Taking Zangetsu, she pointed it directly at the specter. "Whoever said I was actually gonna listen to any of your crap, Ulquiorra?!"

"...Hmph." The espada snorted, picking himself out of the debris, his form peeling away into nothingess, even as he languidly rose back to his feet. "It seems...you've learned then.

--

Auburn eyes snapped open to find themselves back within her soul. However, compared to last time, she could now understand the message her subconcious was trying to imrpint upon her.

And it was a pretty damn obvious one at that.

_Don't resist the fear. Don't fight against it as if it were an enemy. Fight WITH the fear, embrace the terror and unbearable agony of losing all you hold dear, and make it a part of yourself. Control it. Wield the fear as you would a weapon._

_Fight._

"Heh." She shuckled again, breaking the block, to kick her other self in the ribs.

**_"Eh?" _**Hichigo, still sore and stinging from Ichigo's jab, snarled as they snapped apart. **_"What's so stinkin' funny?!"_**

"Nothing." Ichigo replied blurring forward, lashing out to grab the hollow's blade, barehanded. "Just a taste of your own medicine." Immediately, black light flowed up the hollow's sword, clearly surprising her, and forcing Hichigo to leap away, now leaving Kurosaki with two Zangetsu, and armed to the teeth.

"Deja vu, neh?" The shinigami laughed, grinning childishly as she brandished the twin pair of daito with practiced ease. "'Cept I got the bigger swords here."

**_"Funny." _**Hichigo sneered, extending her right hand out and vertical to herself. **_"But tell me what would you do if I... _**Dark sparks, as if they were lightning, crawled over the hollow's hand, up her sleevless arm, and back again.

**_"Had a trick up my sleeve?"_**

Ichigo scowled, sensing something amiss, but it was too late..

A flame blasted its way down upon the defenceless skyscraper; consuming all that stood in its path as the wailing sound grew louder and louder still. There was nowhere to hide...

Huge chunks of building were whipped up into the niw blood red sky as the vengeful torrent heaved everything to it, like a mighty vacuum. Piece by piece, the vicious force of the watery menace ripped up the bulding, as if it was shredding paper.

There was no escape from it.

The tide swelled as a monstrous shape emerged within it,a long, black pole began to form, leaving a wicked curved blade at the end. The edge itself was red and black, set in a zig-zag pattern, but the power...the power that radiated from the waeapon was worrysome.

**_"Rise."_** Hichigo grinned, craning her neck up at the deadly blade, taking it by the pole as the black flames finally left its transformation, completed with a sharp snapping hiss.**_ "Tenshagaigyaku Zangetsu!"_** **(Translation:Heavenly reverse Scythe chain Slicing Moon)**

**_Next time: Cry of the Soul._**


	6. Cry of the soul

**_Author/Note from Neonzangetsu: Alright everyone, chill out. I have a plan, and the good guys will prevail, it just won't be a simple, bloodless victory. Character death can, and_ will _happen in this fic, so get used to it. And no, Ichigo isn't dead. Not yet at least._**

**_Cry of the soul_**

Ichigo's eyes widened as her opponent reached up and pulled the scythe back out of the wall. The intense flare up was just like Kenpachi's a spiraling tornado of pure power, but blackish red, instead of yellow. A mixture of fear, awe, and excitement was swirling around in her brain.

**_"Don't just stand there! You'll get yourself killed!"_**

The clash of zanpakuto was so violent the force blew a large hole in the wall of the building next to them. It was only going to get worse, Ichigo realized, as her other half cackled and brought the blunt end of the scythe around to jab at her face.

Hissing in surprise, she lost ground against the momentum, her bare feet scrapping across empty air, before Hichigo abruptly reversed her grip on the weapon's pole, channeling all the excess energy into the unaware

_"Is that it? Is that all you got? This isn't even the power you had last time we fought. Have you been slacking off?"_

She'd already lost the other sword during the first impact of the fight, and was now horrified to learn that the hollow wielded this new, distorted version of Zangetsu just as well, if not better than she wielded _Tensa Zangetsu._

Of course. The first time she'd been in her inner world, back when she'd actually been _male_, Shinji had given her a warning. Your inner hollow always wielded your zanpakutou and your zanpakutou's abilities even better than you yourself could.

That much was obviously clear, as she was driven into a corner and forced into a hellish series of blocks.

Ichigo jumped back and swung Zangetsu in a forward arc towards her opponent.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

The black arc of energy flew at the hollow, who stood there smiling. Ichigo watched with amazement as her opponent did absolutely nothing to dodge the strike. The wave of energy caught its target fully across the chest, and did almost no visible damage. The only way Ichigo could even tell she'd hit the doppleganger was the tear in her uniform, and a torrent of blood where she'd given her double a very deep cut in the right hand.

"Not bad!" Hichigo straightened herself up to expose a wild grin. "I wanted to see it for myself, but you've really improved! I couldn't properly block it that time."

Ichigo grimaced. She should have known it wouldn't be easy, but a wound like that wouldn't even slow _him_down. If she wanted any chance at winning she was going to have to pour more reiatsu into her attacks, but that was obviously what her hollow was after.

_**"Hesitating again? I guess I'll just have to beat the instinct out of you like I did last time."** The_ maniacal grin never left her face.

Before Ichigo could think of a strategy, Hichigo had closed the gap between them once again to start raining blows upon her. For a hollow who always griped and groaned about wanting to be king, she was incredibly fast when she wanted to be. The speed and force of her strikes was staggering, steady forcing Ichigo back down the upside down skyscraper upon which their battle progressed.

A quick thrust was parried away just enough to keep it from piercing the former substitute's head, leaving a bleeding gash along her cheek. Ichigo attempted to dodge backwards to open up room for a counterattack and was rewarded when Hichigo's zanpakuto slid by her, nicking her arm. With her darker half momentarily extended, Ichigo took the opportunity to slash back.

And then it grinned.

Pushing herself inside Ichigo's guard, Hichigo delivered a brutal slash upwards across the chest of her host, causing a nasty wound and a large gush of blood to splatter on the pavement. As she pressed on for another slash, Ichigo went for a cut at her side, trading solid blow for solid blow. Ichigo winced as the jagged sword tore into her flesh, while the fearsome berserker only grunted as another red line appeared across her waist and chest.

"How...?"

**_"I fight to live,"_**Hichigo said ominously as if it were a mantra, scowling as the shinigami representative staggered back. "**_and live to fight. Maybe you can't see the duality of that, but it doesn't necessarily include logic. Besides, it's hard to have fun when you keep yapping!"_**

She lunged forward, but a voice intruded, giving both warrior's pause. _Ichigo._ The deep, masculine undertone had not changed, even though the appearance of both combatant's had gone through the apparent gender swap.

_'Is that...._

_Ichigo. Why are you hesitating. Why do you refuse to wield me properly?_

Hichigo whirled around, spitting a curse as a sharp pain stabbed at her head, leaving her to dig her nails deep into the pale locks.**_ "That voice, no it couldn't be, not now?!"_**Ichigo felt the same sentiment, starting in surprise as the sudden reemergence of Zangetsu's voice for the first time in a month.

_'Old man....Zangetsu?'_

**"So it is you?!" **Hichigo swore as her form flickered briefly, rendering her powerless as the paralysis set in.**"Damnit, I thought I had you under control! Why are you popping up now?!"**

_'Are you...here to help me?_

_Perhaps. Perhaps not. It depends on your answer to my question._

_You cannot fight to avenge in this battle. You must only fight to protect. To do this, you will have to accept the other facet of your psyche, and in doing so, you will learn to better grasp my inner power. But power is nothing but an uncontrollable flame if it is not directed towards a purpose, a greater goal that surpasses all boundaries and desire. Do you have that goal Ichigo? What will you do if I should lend you my strength?_

The answer came before she'd even though to consider his question. It was the reason she'd come here, the reason she had fought, and was still fighting, even after all this time.

_'I...want to protect my friends.'_

_Is that all?_

_'That's all.'_

_Very well then._

Ichigo blinked, surprised to find herself holding an exact duplicate of Hichigo's weapon, the sole difference being that the scythe's colors were reversed to a pitch black with red tinges on its outlying edges. It looked like it should be tremendously heavy, yet it was exceptionally light, something that surprised her.

_You have the power, now use it._

The static around Hichigo faded, leaving the hollow to suck in a ragged breath.

**_"Heh" _**Hichigo grunted.** _"It is fitting, but useless all the same. I'll commend you for taking good care of yourself, but did you ever stop to think that your range has become less than half of what it was when you used it normally?! Beside's, you don't even know how to use that weapon!"_**

"That's where substance and style come in handy" Ichigo said. She continued spinning the new Zangetsu at her right side, careful to keep its momentum locked around her pointer finger, before twirling it and started running ahead. She only had a few steps to got before she was in perfect range. Hichigo brought her scythe up and blocked the first attack, but the reaping horizontal cut still pushed his sword enough to dig into her side.

Burning gold eyes widened in surprise.

"What?"

Then, Ichigo drew the scythe all the way around with a few eloquent spins and attacked Hichigo's unguarded right side. It was barely blocked but the cut was still present, this time deeper than before. "You see?" She said, spinning the scythe back around his back and kick-flipping to the side, "Style overrules raw power."

**_"Like hell it does!" _**Hichigo said with a grin. Ichigo did not take it as a joke and frowned while she brought her own scythe in front to block Hichigo's jumping slash. As the hollow landed she shouldered Ichigo with the weight of her body, forced her feet off the ground and swung down _hard_. She expected her enemy to fly away, but instead the former ryoka _hacked _her blade in the ground and used the force to spin herself around and fly into Hichigo's face feet-first.

Now blinded by his feet and off-balance by his weight, Hichigo was at Ichiho's mercy for an attack. She took advantage and dug her heel into the pale girl's nose, spun around and made a head-splitting chop that traveled nowhere near Hichigo's head but sank into her stomach all the same.

**_"Ow!"_** She shouted. **_"That one hurt!" _**The pain only served to amuse her, and the totally emotionless voice only added to Ichigo's own unsureness of the direness of her attack. Hichigo, using his opponent's choked cry of surprise aura to guide her, brought her own sword up and smashed Ichigo in the back of the head with the edge.

It was stern and powerful enough to force the captain class shinigami to stagger off her face, which let _her _lunge forward face-first to throw the king turned queen away. However, her scythe remained lodged withing the vizard, who looked down at it in surprise as the hollow shot forward to seize its pommel, ramming the edge through her chest...

Where it erupted out her back.

Pain. Intense, mind numbing pain. That was the first thought that came to Ichigo as she looked down and saw the jagged scythe buried to the hilt in her chest. Her head slumped forward as she felt her lung start to fill with blood. Grabbing Hichigo's arm to support herself, her vision started to go dark around the edges. She stood motionless, her reiatsu plummeting dangerously as it took all his effort just to stay standing. In her mind, she heard the hollow's voice, laughing maniacally.

"I already told you, I won't have it, Ichigo. This time, you're gonna submit to _me_ for a little bit."

Growing faint, Ichigo found it a struggled just to raise her head. Hichigo sneered, and shoved the scythe deeper, effectively pinning her host to the side of the building.

**_"See, now this is more like it, Ichigo." _**A pale hand caressed her face, spraying flecks of blood upon her lips when she spat at the offensive appendage. **_"The way it was meant to be."_**The hollow's grin grew till it seemed to split her face, their visage a mere centimeters apart.**_ "Now, how about you be the horse, and I...be the king?"_**

Ichigo was about to snarkily comment that a girl couldn't be a king, but something cold and wet covered her lips, strangling whatever reply she might have given. Shock and terror overwhelmed her then her flickering consciousness was forced back under from the macabre imitation of a kiss.

--

_(Meanwhile)_

Ichigo's limp form suddenly jerked itself awake, a ragged scream tearing past her lips, all but shattering the protective orange dome that had encircled her for the past five minutes. Startled, Inoue could only stare as white, foamy material began to cover the face of her beloved, the very sight forcing her to take a small stpp back in fear.

"K-Kurosaki-kun! W-What's happening to you?!"

"He's become a hollow, a slave to power." Orihime whipped her head around to see Grimmjow Jaggerjack, splayed on his back, crouched up against the nearby boulder upon which he'd fallen, and eyeing the transformed shinigami with trepidation. He'd been fully healed, but reaitsu exhaustion was what kept him down, and now, he could only helplessly look on as the hollow hole tore itself into existence just bellow the vizard's navel.

She was surprise by the unexpected comment, but right now, she was more concerned for the writhing vizard at her feet.

"C-Can't you do something?!"

"Whaddya _want_ me to do woman?" Grimmjow growled. "I ain't got no reaitsu, and even if I did, he's already half hollowfied anyways. Besides, why should I even bother? What's in it for me?"

He didn't so much as flinch when Tsubaki was at his throat, reaching out to swat the insect like attacker away with the palm of his hand.

"You really think that bug of yours can hurt me?"

"Please!" Inoue was practically in tears now.

"Nope. Not gonna happen without any reaitsu-

"I reject!"

Grimmjow only shook his head in amusement as the dome snapped into place over him, but didn't refuse the help as he felt his reaitsu slowly leaking back into his body. He'd lied about having _no_ reaitsu, he had some, but if this woman wanted to charge him back up to full power, then he wasn't going to protest or fight it.

"Damnit, the bastard really is crazy. First he turns into a chick...and now this one's healing me to fight him? Seriously, she's gotta be his bitch or something, there's no way _I'd_ be a slave like that-

**_"Tell me, is it slavery when you get what you want?" _**The screaming suddenly stopped, as the vizard jerked herself upright to direct a burning glare towards the sexta espada. The mask was still forming, but there wasn't the smallest trace of sanity in that stare, and the power had already destabilized to the point where Ichigo's very form blurred as if she were a TV image and they were getting a bad reception.

**_"Cuz' if it is, I ain't complaining."_**

"Shit! Shit shit shit!" Grimmjow, recognized the surge all too well and swore, his eyes widening in surprise as he tried to get up, only to flop down in a pathetic heap, pinned by both the reaitsu, and the fact that his arms and legs had fallen asleep. Even Nnoitra and Nel briefly paused from their fight, surprise appearing on the former and current espada alike.

"Shit." He groaned one last time, upon realizing what was about to happen, wincing in preparation as Orihime's shield locked into place between them and the derranged shinigami. "Kurosaki, if I live through this, I'm gonna rip you a new-

"Fuck!" Nnoitra cussed, lunging forward as Ichigo's reiatsu skyrocketed to match his own. "She's gonna-"

**_"GRAAAAAH!"_**

A bright light consumed the now screaming Ichigo, smothering her in the blaze of red fire. The sheer heat of it was _blistering_, threatening to overwhelm you. An air of malice could be felt in the air, nearly as thick as the all-encompassing reaitsu that had permeated the air. It was mockery in a sense, as if the very blaze was _daring _you to come close enough to burn.

Nnoitra, even Grimmjow himself was struck speechless, even more so as he watched the blaze grow into a roiling twister of dark red flame. The tornado spiraled endlessly upward, yet stayed in place, as if something were tethering it there, preventing its destructive path from moving ever onward.

As the clouds roiled overhead, lighting began to dance overhead within them. That was made even more menacing by the fact that under the dome of Las Noches, there really wasn't any weather, other than the hellishly bright artificial sun. But a storm was brewing the air becoming more and more charged with electricity.

This power...

It was like nothing he had ever felt before.

It was dark, sinister...

Yet _pure_, as if it had a clear purpose, other than destruction. This riled Nnoitra to no end. Arrancar knew next to nothing of pure reaitsu, their spiritual pressure and reiryoku were black as night from the moment they were born.

Suddenly, the twister, which had been crackling with electricity, virtually humming with raw, unrestrained power, died down. The twister shrank to a mere fraction of its original size and diameter, the winds dissipating with a faint rustle.

If he thought it was over...

Then he was dead wrong.

Just as the winds died...

KKRAM!

A bolt of lightning struck the blaze, spraying hollowfied reiatsu in every direction. Some of it struck the pillars, some of it shot straight through to pierce the dome overhead, and the rest just obliterated any non-living object within a radius of three miles.

Nnoitra stared into the light as they were all consumed in its radiance, the flare sputtering to a crackling, smoking hiss as the sandy cloud of ash obscurred nearly everything. That is, until the figure stalked out of the smoke.

"What the helll...is this?!"

Ichigo now hefted a large scythe over her back, the exact same one she'd revealed in her inner world. The mask had returned once more, though this time it had taken the same distinct shape, it lacked the red stripes, which had become black. Her reaitsu had the exact same feel as an arrancar's, rough, black and full of the desire to kill.

Slowly, her gaze swiveled, over Orihime, Neliel, Grimmjow, before it finally fixated upon Nnoitra. The quinto espada raised his massive weapon in warning, but the mask parted to expose the vicious of its owner, its ceramic confines moving with every word of its master.

_"Hey, espada. You look strong, dont'cha? How about we go at it?"_

"Eeeeh?" Nnoitra's eye narrowed in irritation. "You...wanna fight me, bitch? I just kicked your ass. What makes you think this pansy ass mask of yours is gonna make a difference." He shrugged, and turned his attention away from Neliel, who lay weakly as his feet, bleeding heavily from a gash in her right shoulder. "Huh?"

_"I'm not like Ichigo." _The hollowfied vizard grinned sardonically._ "Ichigo's a pussy. I'm stronger!"_

"What the hell. Shinigami or not, I hope you give me a good fight this time, bitch."

_Ichigo's_ grin was dangerously unpleasant, as was her tone when she heard this.

_"Wanna try yer luck?"_

Nnoitra's toothy grin matched her own.

"Absolutely!"

**_Next time: The two barbarians._**


End file.
